Techniques exist for the virtualization of single applications to allow users to interact with application programs while using a client computer remote to the computer on which the application is executed. Other techniques enable modeling and virtualizing of single applications such that an internal user interface and application state are available to a remote client computer.
Often multiple associated applications are used simultaneously in an overall workflow to accomplish a set of tasks. Currently these applications are launched individually with individual tools for their virtualization.
When a user has to interact simultaneously with two or more applications using a display monitor the applications typically employ display images that share the display area of the monitor. For example, a first application generates a first user interface using a first image window to enable user interaction with the first application. When launching a second application a second user interface using a second image window is generated to enable user interaction with the second application. The second image window is placed in the foreground overlaying the first image window when in response to user interaction with the second application. Thus the first image window is at least partially obscured. When the user then interacts with the first application the situation is vice versa. This is a non-user friendly process substantially impeding demanding user interaction such as viewing and diagnosing medical images.
It would be desirable to enable simultaneous user interaction with a plurality of application programs using a single user interface.